Nano Reef Bloghttp://www.nanoreefblog.com
The Small Side of Reef AquariumsMon, 02 Mar 2015 12:32:40 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1New ‘zero bead’ seams look even better than ADA seamshttp://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/new-zero-bead-seams-look-even-better-than-ada-seams
http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/new-zero-bead-seams-look-even-better-than-ada-seams#commentsSun, 09 Mar 2014 23:27:37 +0000http://www.nanoreefblog.com/?p=2971There is not much information available right now, but these images showing off the ‘zero bead’ seams on this nano aquarium made from 100% low iron glass (optiwhite) is just stunning. Has the infamous ADA aquariums been regulated to the top of a lesser league?

By removing the competitive element between these two companies and allowing their development teams to work together, it means that we can (should?) expect some serious innovation from upcoming product releases. Possibly the biggest reward will come in the form of some unique hybridised LED fixture combining all the best of their flagship lighting systems. With both companies pushing their ‘smart tech’ – wireless controllers etc, I think the very first thing that will happen is that AI products will be able to cross link with the likes of EcoTechMarines MP water pump products in the same way that they work with the Radion lighting fixtures. Who knows, what do you think we will see coming off the EcoTechMarine/AI production lines?

In the official announcement, it is said the brands will continue as two separate entities, but the question here is for how long? I would bet that over the next few years we will see Aqua Illuminations dissolve and we will only be left with EcoTechMarine, but I could be wrong. The reasoning behind this is rather simple, EcoTechMarine offer more clout with their overall product range and they continue to bring game changing products onto the market.

]]>http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/the-great-usa-aquarium-company-merger/feed1EU wants to ban the import of fish & coralhttp://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/eu-wants-to-ban-the-import-of-fish-coral
http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/eu-wants-to-ban-the-import-of-fish-coral#commentsFri, 07 Mar 2014 00:06:13 +0000http://www.nanoreefblog.com/?p=2964A special #handsoffmyhobby campaign has been launched to get passionate marine and tropical aquarists to shout about what they love about keeping fish.

The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA) is warning that popular tropical marine and freshwater fish, corals and invertebrates could be under threat if a European lobbying group for animals is successful in its #votes4animals lobbying campaign in the run-up to the European elections being held in May. Eurogroup for Animals, which is based in Brussels, is asking MEPs to sign a pledge to work towards banning the import of wild caught animals, which could include all types of tropical marine and freshwater fish, corals and invertebrates.

The trade association – which will be lobbying Euro MPs in coming weeks to make sure they hear the other side of the argument – is calling on people power to help in its work by urging keen fishkeepers to contact MEPs to urge them not to sign the pledge.

“We think it’s time that the views of the millions of people who enjoy fish keeping across Europe should also be brought to the attention of MEPs. Currently, many MEPs are signing up to a manifesto written by Eurogroup for Animals. While we can all agree that everyone must be concerned about and protect animal welfare, this lobby group goes much further by asking all political groups to include a call to ‘ban the import of wild-caught animals and restrict the number of exotic species that can be imported and traded in the EU’ in their manifestos. Taken to its logical conclusion this would mean if you want to keep tropical marine or freshwater fish, corals, soft corals or other invertebrates you might as well forget it. All of these are either wild-caught and/or exotic, which means they’re not native to the UK, so they would no longer be available to buy. Your hobby is under threat right now. If you love your tank we want you to let MEPs know how you feel and tell them #handsoffmyhobby.” ~ OATA Chief Executive Keith Davenport.

What you can do to support OATA’s #handsoffmyhobby campaign:

Contact the MEPs who have already signed up to the Eurogroup for Animals’ manifesto to let them know how much you enjoy your hobby and ask why they support this document.

Contact any candidates for the European Parliament in your area to let them know about our #handsoffourhobby campaign and why you support it.

You can find the contact details of your local MEP at http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/home.html and the details of those MEPs who have signed up to the Eurogroup for Animals pledge are on OATA’s website.

Like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter to find out the latest news on this campaign – and share updates with your fishkeeping friends in your groups, forums and communities.

Use the #handsoffmyhobby hashtag on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to share what you’d miss the most from your tank if any wild caught animal ban came into effect.

There’s more information about the #handsoffourhobby campaign on the OATA website.

]]>http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/eu-wants-to-ban-the-import-of-fish-coral/feed1Giesemann introduces Sunshift, pre-configured profiles & a support forumhttp://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/giesemann-introduces-sunshift-pre-configured-profiles-a-support-forum
http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/giesemann-introduces-sunshift-pre-configured-profiles-a-support-forum#commentsWed, 05 Feb 2014 00:10:29 +0000http://www.nanoreefblog.com/?p=2949Long considered the must have lighting unit to hang over your glass box of reef fish and corals, Giesemann kind of faded into the background when the LED revolution smothered our hobby. In hindsight, the German based aquarium lighting company simply retreated into R&D mode to fine tune and refine their offerings, and on debut of their LED systems, the Teszla and Futura models, it was clear that Giesemann is still the juggernaut it has always been in this hobby.

The LED revolution has shifted from new to common place, Giesemann continue to push forward and have recently announced some new functionality for their LED units namely ‘Sunshift’ and pre-configured profiles.

New ‘Sunshift’ feature For Futura / Futura-S platform

Unlike most luminair or multi module LED arrays which work on a parallel programming platform, meaning that all lamps within an array are usually tied to the same or single profile for lighting phases, the Futura has always had the capacity to run separate profiles for each board within the array, allowing the user to simulate differing conditions or ‘zones’ within the same physical volume of water. A system which can be especially useful for aquarists keeping species which require vastly differing light scenarios. Giesemann have now added to this flexibility by developing a brand new programing feature that allows additional flexibility, whereby the user can copy profiles directly to each board within the array, but with an adjustable time-lag on a per-board, or even per-channel basis. Thereby allowing the user to replicate a highly accurate sunlight transition across the aquarium during the daytime phase. This also allows the aquarist to expose corals to a higher intensity than normal in order to induce better colouration whilst at the same time limiting the effects of extended over exposure or forcefully induced photo-inhibition by having a ‘non’ fixed light source.

Rendition of master board 1 / 5 channel profile for Futura.

Rendition of channel curves with ‘SUNSHIFT” across 6 board / 30 channel profile on Futura with a 30 min lag.

Since the launch of the Teszla/TeszlaXT and Futura ranges, Giesemann have always been a strong advocate of the loss-free opticless 120deg output method to gain better output without sacrificing even distribution, and to deliver a more natural light field, a feature many companies are now starting to emulate. Tied with the wide-angle output as standard, this feature now ensures a smooth transition across the aquarium from a visual perspective, whilst also benefiting corals by adding additional intensity into normally shaded regions as that intensity and varying light path moves from one point to the next without excessively over exposing the corals upper surfaces for extended periods. A feature which may prove invaluable to those keeping typically shallow water coral species who wish to replicate more natural lighting scenarios.

Pre-configured profiles

For existing and new Giesemann LED users, there will be a range of pre-designed profiles available for direct download from the Giesemann website and associated customer support sites. These will be configured for both the Futura and Teszla/Teszla-XT Bluetooth interfaces and will be available for both Saltwater and Freshwater platforms.

Profiles will include:

1. A standard default profile for new aquarium installations.
2. An acclimatisation profile for those switching to Giesemann LED from other lighting sources.
3. A range of spectral simulation profiles which are tuned to replicate differing environments such as Shallow reef-flat or lagoon / Upper reef slope-5-10m / lower reef slope-10-20m / and deep shelf 20-30m

These, along with several freshwater profiles (for use with the Freshwater variant of the Futura and Teszla which uses a different LED configuration) will be available for download between February-March 2014.

Technical Support Forum

In collaboration with coralreefaquarist.com, Giesemann now have a new customer support forum where both trade and retail customers can get direct answers to technical questions on the entire range of Giesemann products, including all of the Aquarium/T5/HQI and LED ranges. Additional features will be the ability for users of the Bluetooth LED ranges to share and talk about the various profiles they are using so that they may assist each other as a community of users to get the best results. The support forum and discussion area can be found here: Coralreefaquarist.com

]]>http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/giesemann-introduces-sunshift-pre-configured-profiles-a-support-forum/feed1Fistafiltrations ‘Nano Drop’ reef tank makes an appearancehttp://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/fistafiltrations-nano-drop-reef-tank-makes-an-appearance
http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/fistafiltrations-nano-drop-reef-tank-makes-an-appearance#commentsSun, 02 Feb 2014 23:32:04 +0000http://www.nanoreefblog.com/?p=2938An image of the new ‘Nano drop’ acrylic tank has been doing the rounds. An interesting concept and while this has worked for some hobbyists such as Philippe Grosjean and his 175g (660litre) drop off reef and this new acrylic nano creation from will surely give us all new aquascaping ideas and challenges.

“2ft long, 18″ wide, 18″ at the deep end, it is made from acrylic, there are 2 pieces of tube which act as a stand for the tank and also will hide the plumbing so that it can be sumped (tube will be coloured), the tank holds aprox 70ltrs + sump.”

]]>http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/fistafiltrations-nano-drop-reef-tank-makes-an-appearance/feed2coralreefaquarist.com has launchedhttp://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/coralreefaquarist-com-has-launched
http://www.nanoreefblog.com/nano-reef-news/coralreefaquarist-com-has-launched#commentsSun, 02 Feb 2014 22:49:02 +0000http://www.nanoreefblog.com/?p=2934This weekend saw the launch of coralreefaquarist.com, a new online reef community, headed up by renowned UK coral reef aquarist, Simon Garratt. You might know Simon’s experimental intertidal reef-flat biotope system he ran along with numerous articles you’ve seen penned by him or his great talks he gives on the subject of coral reefs.

The key message behind this new site is rather simple – Progression through collaboration – and is very proud of it’s ‘The Open Door Sharing Policy’. This is something nanoreefblog.com fully embraces. It is refreshing to see this stance as numerous other online communities have taken against the sharing of information that involves linking out to other websites. While all sites under the Anthiasnetwork have always freely shared information, there are certain sites that have even gone as far as banning yours truly along with removing all links & references to nanoreefblog.com.

Here’s a little more about Simons new site:

“Coralreefaquarist.com has one simple goal. And that is to open the doors that commonly separate and segregate many of the different but equally valuable branches of the coral reef community, by throwing out the rulebook and starting again. By accepting that time is no longer on our side as far as the worlds coral reefs are concerned, and by recognising that the only real way to drive our knowledge and understanding forward to the point where we can make a true difference to the long-term welfare of this environment we all have so much passion for, is by accepting that all branches of our community have equal responsibility and can equally contribute to solving the issues by pooling our global resources of knowledge and cumulative experience. Heaven forbid, even if we cannot save the reefs long term for various reasons, it becomes even more important that we master the art of maintaining and preserving as much of that incredible diversity as we can, and the ‘ONLY’ we can do this, is by sharing our knowledge and experiences. Be they successful or not, both can have equal value.”

Nanoreefblog.com is proud to be associated with coralreefaquarist.com and look forward to collobarating more in the future.